This paper examines challenges obtaining representative samples of males who have sex with males (MSM) in Estonia and provides descriptive HIV behavioral data gathered from four cross-sectional surveys; three using the internet, and one using respondent driven sampling (RDS) to recruit MSM in Tallinn and Harju County.

The studies, conducted within the regional program “Right to Health”, implemented by the Eurasian Coalition on Male Health (ECOM) with financial support of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, demonstrated that men who have sex with men (MSM) and trans* people have a low impact on planning and management processes related to the responses to the HIV epidemic in five countries of the Central and Eastern Europe and Central Asia (CEECA): Armenia, Belarus, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan and Macedonia.

Men who have sex with men (MSM) continue to be at higher risk for negative health outcomes including
HIV, STIs, depression, substance use, suicidality, and anxiety. Associative relationships between homonegativity (internal and external) and these outcomes are used to explain the observed disproportionate impact.

Evidence supports that gay, lesbian, and transgender populations are at increased risk for mental health problems. The current study was conducted to estimate the prevalence of anxiety and depressive symptoms and related factors among men who have sex with men (MSM) in Estonia. This is
the only known study of its type in the Eastern European region.

This document was produced by ECOM—Eurasian Coalition on Male Health, a network of organizations and activists working in the region of Eastern Europe and Central Asia. We aim to create favorable conditions to ensure that men who have sex with men and transgender people have access to human rights oriented and evidence based services in the field of sexual and reproductive health, including HIV.

The following report seeks to analyze legislative and regulatory acts and documents, as well as international human rights obligations related to HIV and the rights of MSM and trans* people in EECA. It offers an overview of the legislative situation in 9 countries of the EECA region: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, and Ukraine.